neurodiversity.net | with angels like these...

Date: 6/13/2005 12:16:29 PM
From: Anne Bevington
To: J.B. Handley
CC: Karen Beauvais, Becky Nelson, Holly Bortfeld, Dan Olmsted

I am the mother of a child with Asperger's Syndrome. I read about the Generation Rescue website and its Rescue Angels in Dan Olmsted's article, (Washington Times, May 24, 2005). I joined a public news group frequented by members who are listed as Rescue Angels on the Generation Rescue website.

Over the past week-end, I have been appalled to read the messages from three of these Rescue Angels - Karen Beauvais of Atlanta, GA, Rebecca Nelson of Erie, PA, and Holly Bortfeld of Orrtana, PA - directed at two people on the autism spectrum. Their targets were Camille, the "Autism Diva" () and Ettina, a teen-ager with PDD-NOS. Although I understand that these Rescue Angels disagree with Camille's and Ettina's points of view, their messages show a serious lack of understanding of the varieties of abilities, disabilities and communication styles of people on the autism spectrum, as well as a complete inability to interact with autistic spectrum people. I am copying some of their messages below so you can see what I mean.

The Generation Rescue website is holding these Rescue Angels out as people who can help others with autism issues. Generation Rescue has sought out and received publicity to encourage contact with them. Unfortunately, these folks do not have the necessary skills. I think that the Generation Rescue organization, which bears some responsibility for vouching for Rescue Angels, should provide some training to these people so that they will have a broader understanding of autism and can learn to interact more appropriately. I think it is unwise to send out Rescue Angels who cannot communicate in at least a non-hostile manner with people who have developmental disabilities. If these people are among those who constitute the Generation Rescue organization, then they should voluntarily undertake to improve their knowledge of autism and their communication skills. Otherwise, they run the risk of inflicting a different kind of harm in their attempts to do good. Also, they make your organization look bad, to put it mildly.

Camille baby....with thoughts like this maybe you should earn the $20,000 and drink the Thimerosal...we can get you all set up with the doctor in California running the deal.
love,
your listmates
Bottoms up! Really it's safe, all that Harvard and Columbia research was just junk science.

Why don't you crawl back into your hole Diva and leave our kids alone? Sounds like you have a little genetic problem involving white matter.
Karen

nnnnoooo. The question is this if Thimerosal is so stinkin' safe why would the pharmcos have to send out stealth messages through phoney autism websites. Why would a genderless nobody be trashing David Kirby, Lyn Redwood and JB and Lisa?
There are dozens of Ivy League papers on the dangers of Hg. duhhh!
(directed to resident stealth Diva)
Why does this loathsome Diva lifeform exist, is my question?
Do not debate him or her...whatever she or he is.
The Email is a plant so you can respond and she (or he) can misquote you all over cyber space.
Karen

Ettina, if you don't feel you are in need of healing from mercury poisoning, why are you on this list? This list is of parents who want to make thier children healthy again by removing mercury, which we believe will in turn cure their autism. I think autism sucks. I want it cured and banished from my kid, my family, our lives. I think it absolutely needs to be cured so my kid can have a life and a future. If you like your autism or aspergers, or whatever you have, goodie for you. But you have no right on this fucking planet to tell me how I should raise or treat my kid or deal with his health so if you don't want to hear about us fighting for a cure, go hang out with NAAR and ASA people and quit wasting our time.

Holly, mom to a mercury poisoned kid with autism

Geez, David maybe it was our resident psycho Diva. You know, the one with mulitple personalities and websites who is a aspie-wanna-be and has histronic personality disorder.

Ettina, who the hell are you to tell us what we can want for our own kids? I want my kid cured of autism. I want it out of my house. Autism sucks. My kid was a wonderful lovely healthy boy before this with the promise of a great future. all of that is gone. You may have that but you are clearly much higher functioning. Until you, and people like you, help and stand up for those low functioning kids locked in institutions in diapers, not just you verbal people, you can go screw yourself. And take autism with you.

----- Original Message -----
From: ettinashee
To: Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 11:28 AM
Subject: [EOHarm] Re: My son w/ and w/out mercury

> I am not against trying to make a child happier and healthier as long
> as you are not trying to make them no longer autistic.

On Generation Rescue's "Rescue Angels"